


Dying Light

by clarii, WinterBlossoms



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 22:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16072865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarii/pseuds/clarii, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterBlossoms/pseuds/WinterBlossoms
Summary: The tower is spiral. It’s tall. It’s magnificent. And it will where her life will end. Where everything will end. A tear slides down her face. There is no turning back now.





	Dying Light

The tower is spiral. It’s tall. It’s magnificent. And it will where her life will end. Where everything will end. A tear slides down her face. There is no turning back now.

She enters the double doors. They’re open. 

The staircase is winding as she advances to the top floor. 

The elevator is broken. 

It’s cold there- breezes swirling around in in gusts and tempests. She doesn’t see the other figure- its brown hair merging in with the darkness of the night- until she is fully standing on the balcony. 

A sixth sense grabs her, forcing her unwilling feet to move forwards and grab its wrist. The skin was cold.  
“You don’t deserve to die like this!”  
She wonders why she was telling them this. She could see that it was a girl now- their amber eyes shocked as they turned. 

There was no point in continuing. Gloria meets her gaze for a second before she spins around and walks away.

She’d have to do it tomorrow.

 

The wind picks up, howling in her ears, running through her hair. Reiya can see the entire city from here.  
She removes her shoes, looking out over the lights of the buildings.  
A smile graces her face. “I’m sorry, sis. I’ll see you in heaven.”

Reiya closes her eyes and walks towards the edge.

A hand grabs her wrist, closing around her cold skin. “Stop.”  
Instinctively, Reiya turns. 

The girl stands there, a determined look in her eyes. Her golden eyes are angry, a storm of emotions conflicting her.  
Reiya doesn’t say anything.  
“You don’t deserve to die like this.” shouts the girl, and the blood rushes to Reiya’s face and for a second the only people in the world are Reiya and the girl.

As the girl left, Reiya writes a note for her and put it on the balcony.

Birds tweet.  
Why are they so happy?  
Why do they feel no sorrow?  
The sky is blue above- a vast clear blue. Beautiful almost against this cruel, grey, world.  
She emerges onto the rooftop.  
The girl isn’t there.  
Gloria makes her way to the edge, crouching down to take off her shoes.  
A scrap of paper is on the ground- battered slightly.  
You don’t deserve to die like this  
She reaches down for the note, tucking it in her pocket.  
“That was my line…” she whispers huskily to the city below before leaving, closing the doors to the balcony. 

A concert.  
With a singer under the name of Gloria Adler. Reiya had heard stories about her, how her voice could make people feel and fall under her spell.  
Impulsively, she buys a ticket. I need a distraction.

(only a few moments ago she had been wiping a mixture of blood and tears from the piano keys, thrown the razor away and cried)

-she hasn’t sung since her sister died. It’s something that she was never good at then, and was no better now. But she does.  
The soft piano notes rise and fall with the beat, and she opens her mouth. Reiya’s throat is parched and sore from crying.

“There is nothing left to take, but I still try to reach.”  
A deep breath, fingers pressing the familiar keys. Music was and would always be her saviour.  
“Try to swallow it all down, yet I can’t seem to breathe.”  
I will get better one day.  
“Just a single pill of mine, nothing else would suffice-”

“I take it in, now I’m alive..”

 

The concert is crowded.  
Very crowded.  
“Two minutes until you go onstage!”  
She nods at her commander, fiddling with her golden locks. Concerts reminded her of prison. Concerts reminded her of hell. 

With their thin leather whips, they would pace down the line, narrowing their eyes and demanding for the line to be straight- or else there would be no dinner for all of the residents. Without hesitation, they would draw people out and whip them until they are numb to the pain- until their crimson blood stained the floor. 

She walks onto the stage and grasps the microphone, opening her mouth and waiting for the opening of her song to strum before she opens her mouth:  
“Little town with your shining lights- little town shining so bright. Somewhere in that little town- I know that I’ll find you”

Her voice was enchanting, as if weaving an unknown magic throughout the audience as they sat, eyes glued to the stage. To Gloria though, that song was something she had to do, something that held no emotion to her anymore.  
Will someone come and save me from this…  
All this pain….  
All this suffering….  
If I was was made of glass-  
I would’ve been shattered already  
Please…  
All I want is for a saviour to appear…  
Someone that can help me…  
That can save me 

The crowd cheers as the singer walks off of the stage, followed shortly by her accompanist.  
Reiya sighs and leaves with the crowd, thinking about the girl who sang.  
The rumours were correct. So what?

There was something strange about the girl. Though she smiled and sang with all the conviction she could muster, the smile never met her eyes.  
And why did she remind Reiya of the stranger who had stopped her from jumping that day?  
(Golden eyes blazing with fury, the unspoken words on Reiya’s lips. Her pulsing heartbeat, as loud as the stranger’s voice when she shouted don’t do it.)

...no, it can’t be.

She leaves, white dress billowing across the floor. It was as if she was a ghost. Then again- that was just who Gloria was now- a ghost of her former self- deprived of all emotion. An empty husk. She glides backstage. Someone is there.  
A haunting tune fills the air- sweet yet there was sadness behind the melody.  
Enchanting.  
She stood dumbstruck and watched silently.  
And the girl who was playing the piano-  
She was beautiful.

Reiya sits down, taking a breath.  
She starts to play. I haven’t played this in so long.  
Reiya doesn’t sing. It’s a simple fact.  
But just this once, she’ll allow it.

“If you’ll be my star, I’ll be your sky,”

Her voice was alluring, melodious and it seemed to draw her to it. Like a magnet, she moves forward, her eyes tearing up as she opens her mouth,  
“You can hide underneath me and come out at night.”

Reiya freezes, aware that someone has joined her.  
She stops playing. “Who are you?”  
It’s the singer.

The singer extends a hand. “You left the note. For me. On the roof.”  
“I did.” Reiya tenses and doesn’t take her hand, wary of the stranger’s kindness.

 

She stops singing, staring into those amber eyes. They are so warm, so awe striking. There is something about this girl that is different. Gloria reaches out with one hand,  
“You left the note. For me.” She wonders if the other girl remembers, “On the roof.”  
“I did.”  
Gloria smiles and withdraws her hand, “Thank you,” she murmurs, “Thank you so much.”  
She doesn’t know what love is yet, she doesn’t know what love feels like. All she knew that a small seed of happiness was starting to bloom from deep within her- watered by the presence of someone she met by accident. By coincidence.

Reiya doesn’t know how to respond.  
The stranger shifts awkwardly. “How about we start with introductions?”  
“I’m Reiya.”  
“I’m Gloria.”

There is a long silence between the two. “I feel like I owe you something.” Gloria murmurs, her voice soft and sad. “You saved me.”  
Reiya takes her hand. “I think you can forget about that. You did save me first, after all.”

Gloria shakes her head. She could never forget about it. Never forget about the day that the girl- Reiya- saved her life.  
“I did but it was only because I couldn’t just let you die!”  
Her cry was somewhat desperate.  
Gloria smiles.  
“Reiya, will you be my accompanist?”  
Please say yes.

“I...”  
(The roof. The note she left, somehow knowing that Gloria would be back.)  
“Yes.”  
Gloria smiles.

She is happy today- happier than she’s been in years. How could one person produce so much joy? Gloria held back the temptation to hug her.  
“So,” she begins, rummaging through the rucksack that she carried,  
“I um- wrote a song the other day- could you help me compose the music?”  
She grins, handing the lyrics to Reiya.  
“I’m sorry if it’s bad!” 

Reiya skims through the lyrics, quietly scribbling notes on a piece of scrap paper. She taps the pencil against the table.  
“Gloria Adler..”  
She pauses momentarily. Opens her laptop, searches her name.  
Nothing.

But why?  
Reiya closes the tab and sighs. She’ll finish the song later.

 

It’s a few days later when Reiya, by chance, comes across an video on child murderers. She clicks it out of pure curiosity.  
One line catches her eye. “Lucy Evans murdered her own mother at the young age of 11, after being told that she had an arranged marriage with an unknown man. The man’s family was rich and..”

The picture being shown on the screen was of a girl with short golden hair, fair skin and a short stature.  
But what chills Reiya to the bone is not the story of how a child would find it in her to kill the one who brought her up, it was the look in the girl’s eyes.  
Golden. Angry.

There was only one person that Reiya had ever met with eyes like that.  
And it really, really can’t be. There’s no way someone like her could be a murderer.

Maybe it’s just the fact that Reiya has no memories of her dead mother, only longing and the stories she heard from her father, back when he wasn’t always drunk.

Something tells Reiya that she isn’t one to judge Lucy Evans, whoever she was.

Gloria taps the lyrics into her computer,  
And here in the dying light…  
She stops and stands, striding over to where Reiya sits. Her accompanist appeared to be watching something. Taking a seat next to the brown-haired girl, she stared at the screen, processing the caption.  
Lucy Evans.  
Lucy.  
Lucy Evans killed her mother.  
Mother.  
Killed.  
Her breath suddenly got shaky as she met familiar golden eyes. Hard. Cold.  
The past couldn’t stay away forever. Sometime, it would be found and come back to haunt you.  
But why.  
Why did it have to be Reiya?

Reiya frowns when she spots Gloria’s expression. “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?”  
“N-No.”  
Reiya shrugs and closes the tab. Why did she react like that?  
It can’t confirm anything.  
She takes a deep breath. “Do you want anything? Tea?”  
Gloria nods.

A few minutes later, Reiya is back with her favourite brew, plus a few drops of honey mixed in Gloria’s cup. “Here.” She places it in front of Gloria.  
“Thanks…”

The two of them spend the rest of the evening finishing the song. Reiya says nothing when Gloria’s hand brushes hers, and nothing when they lean their heads together in exhaustion.  
(her mind is screaming too close too close and her heart is beating too loudly)  
It is a relatively well spent afternoon.

“Is there something wrong?” Reiya asks.  
Gloria’s heart starts to beat at an abnormal speed.  
No. Reiya mustn't know.  
“N-no-” she responds shakily. Gloria didn’t think Reiya believed her.

Gloria takes the cup, responding thankfully as she sips the drink. Its warm. Sweet. Perfect. 

The evening is spent finishing the song. She’s happy but yet- the video still lingered on the edge of her mind. As she leans against Reiya, her heart starts to beat again- this time, not from the video.  
What a strange emotion….

 

There is a pain in her chest, tightening, tightening, till she can’t breathe.  
Reiya is shaking uncontrollably.  
(“Sis! Sis! Are you okay?” Clarity pipes, worried. “Rei?”)  
She attempts to make a noise. No sound leaves her lips.

Reiya collapses onto her knees. Breathe in, breathe out.  
Breathe in-  
sob.  
Hot tears slide down her face, making breathing harder than it already is.  
It’s okay, Clarity says. It’s okay.

(you’re going to make a fool of yourself, you idiot, Gloria is going to hate you-)  
It’s okay.

 

Gloria seizes that handles of a drawer, pulling outwards and rummaging around until she finds what she was looking for. She takes out a photo album, the cover is red and tattered. It’s old. So old. She hasn’t seen it in so long.

She turns the page over, regarding the photos that had been scattered across the page, glued roughly. They were taken of a small girl with golden hair and hard amber eyes. Though the child was smiling, it was as if her smile was fake- a smile that hid all the pain that was roaring inside of her. She remembers taking all of these photos, each click of the camera and each mask she was forced to wear. 

Gloria doesn’t want to see this anymore. She doesn’t want to see this child. She throws the book across the room and one page rips out.  
It reads:  
THIS BOOK BELONGS TO LUCY EVANS

 

Reiya has dedicated her life to music.  
She plays. The piece has to be perfect if she and Gloria want to win.  
Fingers dance across the ivory keys- this piece feels different. It is fast, lively, challenging. Reiya decides that she likes the piece.

Her mind wanders. Gloria. Lucy.

(it was silly, really, to compare Gloria to a little girl who murdered her mother. Gloria would never.) 

 

Gloria sings, her voice haunting and melodic as she skims over the lines and makes some small changes. Reiya doesn’t know this but she based this song of their encounter. Reiya doesn’t know what Gloria feels for her. Reiya doesn’t know any of this. Gloria wishes that she was brave enough to tell Reiya.  
I’m such a coward…  
Why should I care…  
Why should I not confess….

She knows what love is now. This is the first time she’s felt it. As if Reiya was a fire, that infernal is thawing the heart that she froze years ago. And for the first time in Gloria’s life- there was someone she cared about. Someone she would protect. Someone that made her smile. Someone that she wanted to be with day after day.

 

Reiya picks up the white lilies.  
Soundlessly, she lays them on the grave. “Hey, sis. I miss you.”  
She wipes away a tear. “I met somebody amazing, I think you would like her.”  
“I.. uh.. I’m practising for a competition. I wish you could come see us.”

“Thanks for listening, sis.”

Gloria sees Reiya, standing infront of the grave. She wants to walk to her- comfort her but she stays put until Reiya finishes talking.  
“Hey Rei…”  
She hands a brochure to the other girl. It advertises the Sakura Moon festival.  
“Do you want to go with me? It’s after the concert…”

So awkward…

 

Reiya stills. “What-how long-”  
A deep breath. “Well, I mean.. It could be fun..”  
She offers a timid smile.

Gloria smiles back, and Reiya immediately cheers up. “We’ll have to work extra hard on our music now.”

 

Gloria nods.  
“Right!”  
She takes Reiya back to their practise studio and shows her the new draft.  
“So- what do you think?”  
Reiya’s breath is warm on the back of her neck as the girl stands behind her. Or maybe it was just that Gloria is starting to blush. 

 

“It’s pretty good.” says Reiya, shoving her hands in her pockets and taking out a small pencil. She makes a few edits. “There. I’ll look over it more later.” 

 

“I think we have a good chance of winning.”  
“Me too.”

 

The lights dwindle as Gloria stands, waiting for her turn to go on stage. She reaches out to grasp Reiya’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze  
“We’ll be fine,” she murmurs as the two make their way to stage. The stage lights are hot as they beat down- uncomfortable but Gloria ignores it.

Familiar notes start to fill the air as she opens her mouth,  
“Why do I bother… why do I try? Why does nothing feel alright?”

 

Reiya takes a deep breath. Just a few more hours and it’ll all be over.  
She has to be the best. After all, it was her last performance.  
Gloria’s voice rings out, melancholy, incandescent. She was more than Reiya could ever be. Gloria was going to be great, and Reiya refused to drag her down anymore.

The song ends. Too soon.  
The singer turns and smiles at her accompanist. Reiya forces herself to smile back as she takes the stage.

“I just wanted to thank you all for coming.”  
Another deep breath.  
“And.. I also want to thank Gloria for singing with me for so long.”  
Gloria frowns. She looks confused.  
Tears are falling down her face, inevitably, as Reiya thinks of Gloria and her smile and-  
Don’t think about that.

“Thank you all so much for everything you’ve given me-us!” The crowd erupts, cheering and shouting both of their names.

It’s silent as over one hundred musicians line up, staring eagerly at the host who had stood on the podium.  
“First of all,” he began, “I want to say that everyone did it brilliantly. You should all be so proud of your achievements in this! But of course, here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for!  
Coming third… with the awesome duet is REN BLACK AND NIXON IRVINGS!  
And second… a piece with much talent on the guitar and drums THE SMURD SISTERS, ILIA AND AIKA!  
And first…. Drumroll please!!!!”  
Thumping fills the stadium.  
“A brilliant, captivating, emotional piece by GLORIA ADLER AND REIYA FORESTER!”

Gloria gasps she is beckoned to the front and given the trophy. She doesn’t look at Reiya because she knows that if she does- she’ll cry.  
“Rei- we did it!” she murmurs, “We won! I’m so proud of you…”

 

Reiya is sobbing uncontrollably at this point, taking the trophy as Gloria hands it to her with wide eyes. 

Unexpectedly, she hugs Gloria. “Thank you so much.”  
The crowd screams approvingly as Gloria returns the embrace.

They leave as the event is over and after a wave of photoshoots, the manage to escape into the crowded japanese streets.  
“So to the festival?” Gloria asks as Reiya nods. She smiles as they run into the shrine, laughing as they did so. Scents of food clung the air as Gloria purchases Sakura Mochi and Dango for Reiya to snack on. They pause at a fountain, deserted yet however, trees littered their peachy pink petals over them.  
“Did you hear,” Gloria begins, “That if someone confesses their love here at this fountain, their relationship will be happy forever?”

 

Reiya doesn’t know what to expect.  
The petals fall, surrounding the two of them in a soft pastel rain. “N-No, actually.”  
Gloria is silent for a moment, and Reiya catches the blush dusting her cheeks.

Reiya turns and walks away, her brown hair swaying in the gentle breeze and cherry blossoms dotting her hair.  
She’s never looked prettier.  
Gloria walks behind her and suddenly, grasped Reiya’s hand.  
She turns, surprised.  
Behind them, the fountain lights up.  
The singer leans forwards and kisses Reiya, heart thumping.  
I love you.

 

Reiya is shocked, too shocked to even react for a few moments.  
The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but to her it was an eternity before Gloria pulled away, out of breath.  
“W-Was that okay?” Gloria splutters, a rare moment of weakness, and no it’s not cute why would you ever think that Reiya-  
Instead she smiles and laughs. “Yes! It was more than okay!”

Reiya is rewarded by the relief that floods Gloria’s face.

It’s dark as Gloria grabs onto the boat, face a mask of fear. Water sloshes beneath them as she bites back a scream. Behind her, she can feel Reiya’s warm, quick, breath.  
“Gloria!” she cries panicked.  
Gloria reaches back to stroke her hand,  
“It’s fine…”  
Light floods into their vision as the waterslide ends, raft drifting slowly at the pool.  
They are exhilarated but the sense of thrill and fear still tinged the air. 

Reiya laughs. “That wasn’t too bad.”  
“See? You did have fun!”  
The singer smiles. “What do you wanna do next?”

Reiya shifts awkwardly. “Well… I was thinking..”

Somehow, they ended up in a karaoke bar, singing their hearts out.

 

The lake is serene as they watch over the water.  
“Look Gloria! That one’s you!”  
Reiya exclaims, pointing to a duck.  
“Why?”  
“Cause it’s the prettiest!”

Gloria feels herself blush as she hugs Reiya, never wanting to let go.  
She does though as she smiles at the brown-haired girl, face glowing with joy.

 

The grass around her is surprisingly soft, and the sun shines too brightly in her eyes. “I wish I could stay here forever.”

It hurt, deep down inside, so deeply that she couldn’t express it with something like words. I’m sorry.

Reiya smiles. “I’m really happy to have met you.”  
Gloria laughs. “Me too.” she admits.

Gloria didn’t catch the hidden meaning behind those words.

 

They look at the sky. It’s speckled with countless stars. Leo. Libra. Orion. Gloria knows them all as she points them out to Reiya.  
She remembers how she used to sneak out at night and stare at the glass roof of the prison’s observatory every night to count the stars.  
Like a milky waterfall, the run across the sky, twisting and churning. It’s beautiful.

Being under this vast expanse, she could forget. Forget about everything. All she sees are the stars and Reiya and she feels light, as if she could drift away to cloud nine.  
“I love you.. Reiya”  
She murmurs quietly.  
Gloria doesn’t think Reiya heard.

 

The last few months were.. A dream.

Everything that had happened was surreal, like watching it through somebody else’s eyes. 

And it was all going to end here.  
I’m sorry, Gloria.  
She took the set of those very brightly coloured pills and let the world fade away, the sun too bright in her losing eyes.

 

She hums as she stacks her books and puts them in the shelf. There is one missing. It must be still in the practise room. Gloria grabs the keys and runs out the door, hoping to get there soon. She’d call Reiya later so that they could practise. Any excuse to see the brown-haired girl again.

The practise hall is silent as she approaches, a deathly silent. The door is open. Gloria tentatively makes her way in and glances around.

She sees the pills first. Lying on the ground, specks of colour against the wood.

Then she sees her.

Reiya.

Lying in the ground. Still.

Her first response is to call the ambulance and she does so, punching the three numbers in with such force and desperation.  
“Hello, 911 speaking would you like-“  
“JUST CONNECT ME TO THE AMBULANCE NOW YOU GODDAMNED MOTHERFUCKER”  
The line clicks and another voice speaks, this one strong and masculine.  
“HURRY UP! 24TH ELDER STREET, HELENLY. NOW! DON’T WASTE ANYMORE CRAP. SHE’S DYING. GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!”  
Gloria drops her device and collapses, grabbing Reiya’s head.

She doesn’t respond.

“Rei… Reiya… are you… alive…”

The pills shine with malice.

“Rei… you must be alive right? Right! Right?!”

Sirens wail as two women enter, both wearing the emergency services uniform. The doctors were here now. 

She watches them take Reiya’s body away as tears fall down her cheek.

Please be alright Rei…  
I’m sorry that I didn’t get here in time…

The last thing she remembers is the world fading behind her eyelids, embracing the darkness that would finally put her at rest.

The monotone beeping of the machine next to her said otherwise.  
Reiya opens her eyes, her emotions a confusing mix of panic and disappointment. It didn’t work.  
The nurse smiled at her. “Hello, dear.”  
Reiya clutched the bedsheets. Gloria. “Has anyone come to see me?”  
The nurse frowned. “Yes, actually, but we didn’t let her in. It was family only.”  
She inhaled slowly. The concert was scheduled for today, and Reiya couldn’t be there. She let Gloria down.

 

It was in no way retribution for what Reiya had done, but she bought a ticket and left as soon as she could.

“And here, where the light is dim, where the light is dying…”  
She sings and the crowd cheers. Gloria is hollow inside though, there’s an empty spot beside her where the piano should’ve been.

The melancholy song ends, the golden haired girl bowing and leaving the stage. When Reiya was there, performances were bright and cheerful. Now, it’s just an empty void.

Backstage is gloomy as Gloria grabs her coat, heading for the door. She had to see Reiya.

Someone is there though. Standing by the door is a slim figure with chestnut-brown hair and glowing amber eyes. 

Gloria walks towards the person, barely able to believe her eyes. She is unable to express the emotion that she feels and finds herself hugging Reiya, crying until she could cry no more.  
“Reiya…. You’re alive... “

The tower is spiral. It’s tall. It’s magnificent. And it is where her life began. Where everything began.

Thank you so much for her.

Gloria is standing next to Reiya, looking out into the sunset. She smiles.  
Reiya smiles right back.

They met by chance, and every day Reiya wakes up, scared that Gloria left, and she never has. Reiya is grateful for that.

Gloria is her entire world, her whole universe and more, and meeting her was a miracle. Reiya can’t be thankful enough. “I love you.”  
“I love you too”


End file.
